Strawberry Shortcakes with Skyr Cream

📝 Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 10 g baking powder (about 2 tsp)
• 60 g caster sugar (25 for the dough, 15 for the strawberries, 20 for the cream)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 50 g very cold unsalted butter
• 150 g plain yoghurt, 1.5% fat
• 3 tbsp semi-skimmed milk (2 for the dough, 1 for brushing)
• 500 g strawberries
• ½ lemon (zest and juice)
• 400 g plain 0% skyr
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• 7 cm round cutter (or a glass)
• Baking tray + baking paper
• Pastry brush
• Whisk
• Cooling rack

📖 Steps

1. Wash the strawberries before hulling them (otherwise they soak up water), then quarter them. Mix them in a bowl with 15 g sugar and the zest and juice of the ½ lemon. Cover and leave to macerate in the fridge for the rest of the preparation.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 °C and line the baking tray with baking paper. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, 25 g sugar and the salt. Add the well-chilled butter cut into small cubes.
3. Rub in: quickly rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, with no piece of butter bigger than a small pea. Work fast so the butter stays cold.
4. Add the yoghurt and 2 tbsp milk, then mix with a fork just until the dough forms a soft, slightly sticky ball. Don't knead: overworked dough gives hard, flat shortcakes.
5. On a floured work surface, flatten the dough by hand into a disc 2.5 cm thick. Cut out 6 rounds with the floured cutter, pressing straight down without twisting (sealed edges rise less), gathering up the scraps for the last one.
6. Place the shortcakes on the tray, brush them with the remaining milk and bake for 14 to 16 min, until well risen and golden on top. Leave to cool on the rack for at least 10 min: if still warm, they'll melt the cream.
7. Meanwhile, whisk the skyr with 20 g sugar and the vanilla for 1 min, until smooth and creamy. Keep it in the fridge until assembling.
8. When ready to serve, split each shortcake in half by hand or with a knife. Top the base with a generous spoonful of skyr cream, add the strawberries with a little of their juice, then put the lid back on. Serve immediately.